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Woodland UK

Submitted by Capt. 'Bob' on Thu, 2016-02-25 02:31

"Up to 50 projects across the UK could receive funding to help transform unmanaged woodland for community use. The Big Lottery Fund is giving more than £1m to the Plunkett Foundation for its Making Local Woods Work project. The aim is to provide sustainable employment, training and leisure facilities. A social enterprise on the Lincolnshire/Nottinghamshire border is one of the places being used as a blueprint for the scheme. The Plunkett Foundation said woodland social enterprises were beginning to emerge as a way of tackling a wide range of issues..." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35531670

Scrutiny:http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/infd-64za8x "Summary: - Social enterprises – organisations that achieve social and environmental aims primarily by trading – have an important role in a sustainable and socially inclusive economy. Forest Research studied how Hill Holt Wood in Lincolnshire has become a community woodland and social enterprise based on sustainable principles. Key findings:

Holistic approach – the site focuses on people and communities, management of the environment and the creation of a sustainable business

A model for social woodland enterprise – elements of Hill Holt Wood could be adopted elsewhere as a model for rural development and diversification

Attractive community – people live and work in the wood, so it attracts people (especially women) who may not usually venture out alone

Support – policy-makers must decide how these organisations can be supported (e.g. grant schemes)

Local decision-making – commitment from the community and staff provides the momentum for success and greater involvement in strategic local decision-making

Woodland advantage – A woodland setting has distinct advantages: seemingly less crowded, calming and therapeutic for children with behavioural difficulties or special needs and scope for a variety of activities (coppicing, charcoal manufacture, woodcraft and recreation)

Monitoring – assessments should cover ecological, social and economic impacts, in particular the effect of vocational training on young people excluded from mainstream education"

Woodneckpeckers: "Each Community Forest is a partnership between local authorities and local, regional and national partners including the Forestry Commission and Natural England. The founding basis for each Forest is a government-approved Forest Plan, a 30-year vision of landscape-scale improvement. Since 2011, the Community Forests have had a national accord with the Forestry Commission...."

2014 "When David Cameron tried to carve up the forests among his cronies in 2010, he was forced into a humiliating U-turn. An independent panel under the Bishop of Liverpool was set up and the subsequent report was crystal clear – the English forest estate must be preserved for the people, in perpetuity and expanded. Three years later and the government is still prevaricating and looking for ways to sell off our woodlands. One method would be to use biodiversity offsetting, as very little of our publicly owned forests are ancient woodlands. Another and even more dangerous method would be to use the recently proposed infrastructure bill. This allows the secretary of state to override all planning considerations if he or she deems it necessary, and would enable any part of England (including public forests, SSSIs, etc) to be sold to developers with absolutely no right of appeal.It's clear that this government will never stop until it has privatised every last inch of our country."

"Four million trees will be planted over the next year, the UK government said as it confirmed it would continue to fund the creation of new woodlands. Some £6m will be invested by the government in new planting in 2014-15, as part of a £30m investment for woodlands in England, with the remainder of the money being spent on management of existing woods."

This will be held at 6pm on Tuesday 17 May 2016 at Barrowcliff School.

The meeting is open for all members of RWCE to attend and Members (who have been Members for more than 5 days) will be eligible to vote at the AGM. Members of the public can join as Members on the night and attend the AGM, however, they will be unable to vote. Elected members of Scarborough Borough Council can also attend if they wish, although again, unless they are Members they will be unable to vote.

Clearly the purpose of the AGM meeting is to enable RWCE to conduct its business. However, the group recognise that it would be helpful to provide further opportunities for people to ask questions and understand more about the organisation and the work in the woods and is therefore proposing to hold a series of public guided walks in the woods during May 2016 (I will advise of the dates once I have these) and also a public meeting later in the year.

I hope this clarifies the position – however, if you require any further information about the arrangements you may find it useful to speak to Cllr Bill Chatt, who as you are aware is one of the Council representatives on the RWCE Board."

It's as they spend the day on Monday in Raincliffe Woods learning survival skills.

Survival Day is an activity organised by the Barrowcliffe Big Local and Compass Gym.

They'll be building shelters, making a campfire, cooking and playing games..

To register a free place call Tommy from Compass Gym on 01723 377333..

Under-11's need to be accompanied by an adult..

Vice Chair of the Big Local, Bill Chatt, said:

"A lot of people have asked what they can do with the kids for the holidays, so we thought this would be a good idea. It's got to be worth doing and I think it will be a really good experience for kids.

"The reason we're doing it is bonding. Dads going out with their children, spending the day with them up in the woods, working with Compass to build a den. That's what we're all about now at The Big Local - looking at opportunities to get people working together to start realising there are opportunities now that weren't there before. There are chances to have these events now, which are paid for by the Big Lottery money"."